ISLAMABAD: Former Senior Superintendent of police Malir Rao Anwar was stopped from boarding a Dubai-bound flight at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport late on Monday night.
“I did not try to go anywhere,” the senior police official told media on Tuesday. “Yesterday, there was fake news about a raid at my house and today, media is saying that I have tried to leave the country — which is a false claim.”
Anwar is currently under investigation for his alleged involvement in the extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud.
Rao Anwar further claimed that he made great sacrifices to wipe out terrorists from Karachi, defending the act of extra judicial killing of Waziristan’s native; he said that many civilians and innocent people die during the war.
To a question regarding his avoidance to appear before probe committee, he claimed that he had recorded his statement on the first day. The suspended SSP is facing an inquiry into the extrajudicial murder of Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud.
According to airport sources, Anwar tried to board Emirates airline flight EK615 last night but was stopped by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials at the immigration counter. He was told that he would not be allowed to board the plane as there is an ongoing investigation against him in Karachi, said the sources, adding that Anwar was kept from boarding the plane under Immigration Ordinance 506.
No attempt to arrest Anwar was reportedly made and he was allowed to leave the airport after being stopped from boarding the flight.
The committee investigating Anwar and other officials for the alleged extrajudicial killing had recommended that the men be barred from leaving the country. While a letter has been sent to the Interior Ministry to place their names on the Exit Control List, no notification has been issued as yet
Mehsud, a 27-year-old hailing from South Waziristan, was gunned down on January 13 in Shah Latif Town by ‘encounter’ with a police team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar, however; preliminary probe suggest that Mehsud was killed in cold blood and had no terror links.
His killing has sparked a social media outcry, as his family members reject claims by authorities that he was a member of the Tehreek-e-Taliban, saying he was an innocent aspiring male model.